implications for orientation, not just generally, how it affects the economy, but also in the middle east, something that has to be thought about. there's also the question of the future of the european union which will have an impact, again, not only on the economy, but could also have an impact in terms of what happens in the middle east. we could reserve some of the questions for the q&a, but what i'd like to focus on are a few of the key issues i think are most immediate and prominent. starting with iran. i think 2013 will be a decisive year. for people with long memories, say say, well, gee, people talk about iran for a long time, and every year it's supposed to be the decisive year. why do i say this year? two reasons. one, i think, actually, the impact of sanctions is profound. for the first time, it's truly profound in the case of iran. we have the supreme leader, two weeks ago, referring to the sanctions being brutal, his words. the sanctions are brutal. this is someone whose said on an ongoing basis, looked, we lived with sanctions since the beginning of the islamic republic, th